Iraq

Tim is one of the earliest of today’s wounded warriors to have joined America’s war on terrorism. In fact he would have been inducted into the Army before the end of the day on 9/11 had the planes not all been grounded that morning when the towers fell. By the time his enlistment was up, he was a Sergeant and a combat veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq. Still contending with the pain from wounds sustained in Iraq, he is on course to graduate from Texas State University next year, becoming one of the earliest beneficiaries of the “Post 9/11 G.I. Bill.” Here is his story. Timothy J. Gaestel was born at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii in 1983. His father retired from the...

Scott Garrett was born in Macon, Georgia in 1970. When he was a small child his family moved to Pensacola, Florida and he grew up there and attended public schools. He graduated from Washington High School with the Class of 1989, and went on to attend Florida State University until 1992. He then was employed by GEICO Insurance for a number of years, but got to doing some serious thinking about career choices. Scott was attracted to the military, in part by the experiences of his father and grandfather both of whom had served as NCO’s in the Air Force. He enlisted in the Army. It took some doing, Scott is a big man, six foot six, and that required waivers, but he entered...

Renessa L. Gerhardt was born in Lubbock, Texas in 1985. When she was five years old, her family moved to Saudi Arabia. They lived in Yanbu (about an hour away from Jeddah) where Renessa attended the Yanbu International School until, when she was age ten, they returned to Texas. The Gerhardt’s then lived, initially in Denton, where Renessa finished elementary school. They next moved to Houston where she graduated from Bleyl Middle School and then attended Cy-Creek High School until (having skipped 11th grade) mid-way through her senior year. Then, when she was seventeen, the family returned to Saudi Arabia, once again to Yanbu. Renessa graduated from the Yanbu International...

Felix was an Army veteran working as a Fire Fighter with Travis County when he was called to active duty with his unit in the Texas Army National Guard for deployment to Iraq. When he was wounded by sniper fire on February 10, 2005, he became the first “T-Patcher” of the famed 36th Infantry Division to have been awarded the Purple Heart since World War Two. This is his story. Felix Silva, Jr. was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1980, and he grew up there and attended public schools through age 17. He went to Driscoll Middle School and then, after completing tenth grade at Miller High School, he enlisted in the Army. Felix entered active duty on October 27, 1997 and after...

Ramiro Martinez was born in 1957 in the lower Rio Grande Valley town of San Benito, Texas. During his Elementary School years, his family lived in the little village of La Paloma very near to the river; but, they had moved back to San Benito when Ramiro was going through Middle School and High School. Ramiro graduated from San Benito High School in 1975 and enlisted in the Marine Corps. After initial training at Camp Pendleton, California, he then trained for and was assigned to Force Recon. He stayed in the Marines for seven years, all in Force Recon and all but 13 months of which was overseas. In 1982, he took his discharge and went back home to San Benito. He then enlisted...

David A. Tosh was born in Cherokee County, Texas in 1972. His father had served in the Air Force during Vietnam, following which he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, studying under ROTC scholarship. When his father was commissioned in 1978, six year-old David proudly helped pin on his dad’s gold Second Lieutenant bars during the ceremony that was held in the LBJ Library. David attended public schools in Texas and New Mexico and graduated from Manzano High School in Albuquerque. He then attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Following his graduation in 1994, Dave went to work in SW Houston as a police officer. But, that life changed suddenly after...

(This is a continuing story still in progress) Alan Richard Babin, Jr. was born in 1980 at Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas. When he was five years old his parents moved to Bakersfield, California. His only sibling, sister, Christy, was born after Alan had started to elementary school and he progressed on through middle school while they lived in Bakersfield. In August 1994 the Babin family moved to Round Rock, Texas where Alan attended Round Rock High School. He ran Cross Country in school sports, participated in city league baseball, and trained in karate. Following High School, he had employment in several local businesses and was working at Blockbuster Video on...